istorical Juries, o. 23. -vz^ i fifcz, /z^#^ - VISITS SARATOGA BATTLE - GROUNDS 1780-1880. With an Introduction and Notes. By WILLIAM L. STONE, " AUTHOR OF THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.,";" REVO- " LUTIONARY LETTERS," PAUSCH'S JOURNAL," BURGOYNE'S CAMPAIGN " AND ST. LEGER'S EXPEDITION," MEMOIRS OF MRS. AND GEN. RIEDESEL," "HISTORY OF NEW YORK "LIFE AND " CITY," WRITINGS OF COL.WM. L. STONE," REMINISCENCES " OF SARATOGA AND BALLSTON," THE STONE GENEALOGY," "THE STARIN GENE- ALOGY," ETC., ETC. " There is a charm in footing slow, " Across a silent plain, '' Where patriot battle has been fought. " Where glory had the gain." KEATS. ALBANY, N. Y. JOEL MUNSELL'S SONS, PUBLISHERS, 1895. 93677 E gou. gotm of Wa^infltott, g. (^., the *. game, of lUw ^[0rfe (Kity, <Thi.$ ivciTh i.s affertionateli) flftUfatftl by their toother in a j. x., DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPH WHICH FORMS THE FRONTISPIECE OF THIS VOLUME. The frontispiece represents the ground on which the battles of September iQth and October yth were fought, as seen from the door-yard of the house now (1895) owned and occupied by Mr. James Walker, one mile and a-half from the Hudson river look- " ing East. On the left, is Breymann's Hill," on which was the redoubt at the extreme right wing of the British army, before the last battle. The little white speck seen on it is the tablet erected by Gen. J. Watts de Peyster on the spot where Arnold was wounded in his desperate but successful attack on that position. The line of trees toward the right is the spot where Burgoyne formed his line on the brow of the elevated plain previous to the battle of the igth of September. Beyond the gap and between the line of woods, the narrow line of mist is the Hudson river; while the " table-mountain seen in the distance, is Willard's Mountain," so- called, from an American scout of that name, who was detailed to watch from its summit the movements of the British army displaying signals at night by different colored lights.* About fifteen rods south from where the observer is supposed to stand and in what was then, and is now, a meadow, is the place where Gen. Fraser was mortally wounded by the sharp-shooter Murphy. It is on the west side of the Quaker Springs road running north and south, while some sixty rods south-east, is the knoll on which occurred the hottest of the fight of October yth, between the British Grenadiers and the American troops under Dearborn, Morgan, Learned, Poor and Cilly, so graphically described by " Gen. Wilkinson in his Memoirs." * See, on this point, as well as for much valuable information about Schuyler and Gates, Gen. Ed. F. Bullard's admirable Centennial Address at Schuylerville, N. Y., in 1876. This address, since published in pam- phlet form, should be in the hands of every student of this particular episode of our Revolutionary history. TABLE OF CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. VISITS OF THE DIFFERENT PERSONAGES GIVEN IN THIS WORK: CHASTELLUX, . 1780 MRS. DWIGHT, . .1791 LlANCOURT, ..... 1795 TIMOTHY DWIGHT, .... 1799 SlLLIMAN, . 1819 THEODORE DWIGHT, .... 1820 WIRT, . 1821 STANSBURY, . ; .1821 HOYT, ..... 1825 WOODRUFF, ..... 1827 STUART, . 1828 MATTOON, ..... 1835 MRS. SPURGEON, .... 1879 DE PEYSTER, ..... 1880 APPENDIX: I. SCHUYLER'S FAITHFUL SPY. II. GATES' SCOUTS, BRYAN, HARDIN'S ADVENTURE, ETC. III. ANECDOTES OF BURGOYNE'S CAMPAIGN. IV. PRESENT APPEARANCE OF THE SARATOGA BAT- TLE-GROUNDS. V. MRS'. WALWORTH'S LETTER. VI. THE TABLETS ON THE SARATOGA BATTLE- GROUNDS. VII. SKETCH OF JOTHAM BEMUS. VIII. GILES B. SLOCUM'S LETTER. PREFACE. " When I said I would die a bachelor," says " Benedick, I did not think I should live till I were married." So, when I said in the Preface to my " Burgoyne Ballads" that it would probably be my last book on this subject, I did not think I should live to another afterwards, it complete ; ho_wever, occurred to me that, by way of a final supplement " to my Burgoyne series," it might be well to bring together, in a collected form, the different visits which have been made to the Saratoga Battle Grounds, during the last hundred years, by dis- tinguished personages at home and abroad culled from books which now are either extremely rare, or, at least, are not easily accessible to the general reader. How successful I have been in this effort the perusers of this volume must decide. " If, moreover, it should be asked, Why does the author devote so much time to Burgoyne's Campaign and the various incidents which group themselves io Preface. around this portion of the Revolutionary history ?," the reply is, that the Battles of Saratoga, leading up to the surrender of Burgoyne, were the turning point in the success or the failure of the American Revo- lution without which, the French alliance, even with the exertions of Franklin, would never have been accomplished an event that alone rendered the Surrender at Yorktown, and the consequent inde- pendence of the Colonies possible. In short, the present proud position of the United States among Nations hinged entirely upon this episode of our country's annals. Nor am I alone in this estimate. Gen. J. Watts de Peyster than whom, together with Gen. Horatio Rogers, there is no better au- thority on this campaign, says : "Gates, termed in ' sarcasm the Man mid-wife,' and accidentally pre- sent at the proper moment although he had not superintended the progress of the terrible and pro- tracted labor, did absolutely play the part of an ac- coucheur, and ushered into being a new Nation, a NEW WORLD." Creasy, the eminent historian, also " " " classes Saratoga as the Thirteenth of the fifteen decisive battles of the world from Marathon to Waterloo." My thanks are due, in the preparation of this to Mr. work, John J. Dalgleish of Brankston Grange, Preface. 1 1 Scotland whose grandfather served under Bur- Mr. Frederick Barnard of York goyne ; New city ; Hon. Samuel C. Eastman of Concord, N. H.; Hon. Daniel B. Pond of R. I. F. Woonsocket, ; Benjamin Stevens of Boston, Mass.; Hon. Charles S. Lester and Hon. Winsor B. French of Saratoga Springs, N. Y.; Mr. William S. Mersereau of Elizabeth, N. J., and Rev. Dr. Emery and Mrs. Dr. Smith Ely of New- burgh, N. Y. Nor must I forget to acknowledge my indebtedness to Mrs. Ellen Hardin Walworth of Saratoga Springs, N. Y., for the use of the fine " photograph of the Saratoga Battle Ground," which * forms the of this volume to frontispiece ; and, also, Mr. Frank S. Hull of Newburgh, N. Y., for the picture of a Brunswick, "Jack-boot," which will be " found in the Introduction." WILLIAM L. STONE. Mr. VERNON, N. Y., January \st., 1895. * For a detailed description of this frontispiece, see the page immediately preceding the Table of Con- tents. /-,^r^>-^r^ /~>s f$\/ v^ <-./ 2?^-^Kjv INTRODUCTION. The disastrous result of the campaign of General Burgoyne is to be ascribed more to his own blunders and incompetency than to any special military skill on the part of his conqueror. In December, 1776, Burgoyne concerted with the British ministry a plan for the campaign of 1777. A large force was to pro- ceed toward Albany from Canada, by way of the lakes, while another large body advanced up the Hudson, in order to cut off communication between the northern and southern colonies, in the expecta- tion that each section, being left to itself, would be subdued with little difficulty. At the same time Col. St. Leger was to make a diversion on the Mohawk river. In pursuance of this plan, in the early sum- mer of 1777 he sailed down Lake Champlain, forced the evacuation of Crown Point and Ticonderoga, de- feated the Americans badly at Hubbardton, and took possession of Skenesborough (Whitehall).* * The royal army was divided into three brigades, under Major-General Phillips, of the Royal Artillery, 1 4 Introduction. Up to this time all had gone well. From that point, however, his fortunes began to wane. His true course would have been to return to Ticonde- roga, and thence up Lake George to the fort of that name, whence there was a direct road to Fort Ed- instead of which he determined to on to ward ; push Fort Ann and Fort Edward, over roads that were blocked up by the enemy a course which gave Schuyler ample time to gather the yeomanry to- gether and effectually oppose his progress. Nor was this all. On his arrival at Fort Ann, instead of advancing at once on Fort Edward, and thence to Albany before Schuyler had time to concentrate his forces in his front, he sent a detachment of Brims- wickers, under Colonel Baum, to Bennington, to sur- prise and capture some stores which he had heard were at that place. General Riedesel, who com- manded the German allies, was totally opposed to this diversion, but being overruled, he proposed that Baum should march in the rear of the enemy, by way of Castleton, toward the Connecticut river. Had this plan been adopted, the probability is that and Brigadier-Generals Fraser and Hamilton. The German troops, consisting of one regiment of Hes- sian Rifles, a corps of dismounted dragoons, and a mixed force of Brunswickers, of which 100 were artillerists, were distributed among the three bri- gades, with one corps of reserve under Colonel Breyman, and were commanded by Major-General Riedesel. KOOT OF ONE OF RIEDESEL'S DRAGOONS- At Washington's Headquarters, Newburgh, N. Y. Introduction. 1 5 the Americans would not have had time to prevent Baum from falling unawares upon their rear.